Broken Rules and Broken Hearts
by Starsaa
Summary: Listen, Manson. He's never going to return your affection, so why don't you just give up? Are you afraid of being alone? I'll stay by your side. Guys suck anyway. FemSlash. SamEmber. rated for language
1. My Life, a Losing Game

**Broken Rules and Broken Hearts**

Welcome to yet another new fic by Starsaa! To all my loyal readers of Silent Departure, please prove your loyalty and give me that extra little shove I need to get back on track with it. Until then, I present you with my new fic, Broken Rules and Broken Hearts.

Chapter one: My Life, a Loosing Game

Samantha Manson cringed as the curtain was pushed aside and the sunlight shone through. Immediately, she snapped up and screamed at her parents. It wasn't a smart move, but she was already feeling bitchy today. Why? Well, because young Samantha Manson was becoming a woman.

Having that annoying maternal instinct, Mrs. Manson shooed her husband away, then returned to her daughter's room to find the teen duct taping her black shades over the accursed window. Mrs. Manson sighed.

"Samantha, I..."

"I thought I told you to leave me alone today!" the gothic child hissed.

"I know, dear..." Mrs. Manson grit her teeth trying not to snap. This was not a time to wonder where she went wrong in raising the girl. "But I know what's going on."

Sam froze, considered the possibilities, then climbed onto her bed and hugged her knees to her chest. "What good will it do me? I don't even wanna have kids."

"Well, sure, you say that now," her mother replied, "But maybe when you get older..."

"What, Mother?" she growled. "When I get older, _what_?" she rested her mouth behind her knees and said the rest to hereslf, "I've wasted too much time as is..." then she got up.

"Where are you going?" her mother asked gently. Sam tensed.

"To the fucking BATHROOM!" she spun around. "I happen to need to PISS if you must know!"

Her mother scoffed in distaste. Not even it being Samantha's first Time of Month was excuse to let her swear without punishment.

Samantha decided to take a shower. A long, long shower. It was a good thing she had her own personal bathroom (her mother wouldn't let her keep her makeup in the family one). Just as she'd hoped, her mother had gotten frustrated and left. Samantha got out and did something she hadn't done in over a year - she put on black pants instead of her purple leggings. Not black jeans, just comfy black pants. Her grandmother had suggested her parents buy her a pair when she hit the teen years because she might not want to wear her favourite skirt during That Time. Samantha made note to thank her grandmother for that... her grandmother was the only close relative Samantha even liked. Of course she loved her parents, she had to... even if sometimes she _did_ wish she'd never been given the gift of life. Whenever Samantha's grandmother managed to get the girl out from under Mr. and Mrs. Manson's overbearing rules, she let the girl do whatever she wanted. Whenever Samantha snuck out to meet Danny and or Tucker, her grandmother covered for her. There were many times when Samantha wanted to tell the elderly woman why she had to be with Danny so much - the woman didn't even make stupid cracks about her obvious crush on the boy - but that was Danny's secret, for Danny... and fate... to decide who should know.

Then again, the sudden crashing of a certain teenage ghost through a certain window just might be cue that fate has decided it's time for Samantha's family to know.

"Danny, what are you doing!" Samantha said more accusingly than she'd meant to. She knew he wouldn't intentionally throw himself through her window... or she hoped.

"Ghost fighting," Danny replied, snatching a spare Fenton Thermos off of Samantha's beside table. "Thank you."

Samantha sighed as she watched him fly back out the way he'd came. Samantha's parents, barged in.

"What the hullabit's going on here?" her father exclaimed. Samantha rolled her eyes in disgust. Her parents really didn't know how under rated swearing was. He gasped. "What did you do to your _wall_?"

"Oh, right, make a huge doorway for the sun to enter my room," Samantha spat, "That's soooo something I would do."

"Well how did this _happen_?" her mother asked. Before Samantha could answer, there was another collision, this time with the side of the building next to the window. The wall didn't shatter like the window, but the room did shake a bit. Her parents ran to the window, and all Samantha could do was smack her palm to her face. This was going to be a fun day. Her tone a mixture of fear, anger, and accusation, Mrs. Manson exclaimed, "It's that _ghost_ child!"

"There are two ghosts, honey!" her husband pointed out, literally pointing at a floating girl with pale blue skin and a pink and blue guitar. The ghost boy aimed what looked like a soup thermos and it glowed green, but the ghost girl strung her guitar and a green fist shape came out at him. He curled into a ball then spread his arms and legs, making a green square in front of his body... a shield, they determined, as the fist hit it and fizzled into nothing. The shield faded and the two ghosts flew at each other. The boy emitted some green ray from his hand and it hit the girl, knocking her off balance, then he quickly flew around behind her and came back down, kicking her in the back and sending her down towards a parked car. He seemed worried and took out the thermos thing again. This time, when he aimed it, it shot out a blueish ray and enveloped the ghost girl just before she collided with the car. The bluish ray turned her into some unidentifiable shape and pulled her into the thermos. He capped it and went to fly back into Samantha's room, only to find her parents glaring at him. He turned quicky and flew in another direction. They turned and glared at her as if she's done something wrong.

When he was out of their view, Danny took out his cell phone and dialed Sam's number. Her cell phone rang, she glanced at it, then snatched it off the charger and ran back into her bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

"Why did you try to come back?" she snapped. "Do you know how much trouble I'll be in if my parents know I associate with _Inviso-Bill_?"

"Well, hello to you, too," he said, obviously annoyed. "How was I supposed to know they were there? I was too busy trying not to get blasted, if you didn't notice."

"So what am i supposed to tell them?" Sam asked, feeling a tiny bit guilty that she was being so selfish but too angry to really care.

"I don't know, tell them I forgot the house was.. AHH!"

"You forgot the house was ahh?"

Danny landed atop a building, beneath a billboard which he'd almost just flown into. "Note to self, don't fly and try to talk on the phone at the same time."

Sam wanted to laugh, but she couldn't. She couldn't even smile. "So just tell them you forgot the house was here?"

"Yeah.. like I got confused on which direction I was going and almost flew into the building."

"So tell them I think you're a moron?" Sam grinned.

"Ha-ha-ha," Danny mocked. "It's better than telling them the truth, isn't it?"

"Yeah, they don't think highly of either of you anyway."

"So I noticed. They're still going out tonight, right?"

"Probably not!" Sam sighed. "They're going to want to get my wall fixed."

"They don't need to be there to monitor it, do they?"

"Danny, they're _my _parents. What do you think?"

"Good point. So should I tell Tuck movie night's cancelled?"

Sam thought a moment. She'd been meaning to talk to Tucker alone... "No, I'll tell him. You get back home before your parents suspect anything."

"Okay, thanks, Sam... and, sorry about your window..."

"Yeah, whatever," Sam said, then felt bad again, "I mean... it was an accident... it's no big deal..."

"I swear, someday, I'll make it up to you and Tucker... everything I put you through... I don't deserve friends like you guys."

"Yeah, well," Sam trailed off, trying to hide the sadness in her voice.

"Well what?"

"Nothing, you should get going, and I need to talk to my folks."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Bye, Sam."

"Bye, Danny..."


	2. I Forever Chased the Broken Down Dream

**Broken Rules and Broken Hearts**

Chapter two: I Forever Chased the Broken Down Dream

The doorbell rang. Sam answered it. It was Tucker - right on time. 'Right on time' of course meaning fourty five minutes after Sam had told him to arrive. It was sequencial. 90 minutes late the first time, then 75 minutes the next, and an hour last time. The repetition was doing him good. In just three more weeks he should be showing up on time for real. Hopefully he won't proceed to show up early after that.

"Hey, Sam."

"Hey, Tuck," Sam was on the phone. "Yep, the usual. Thank you."

Tucker laughed, "We already have a usual?"

"Yeah," Sam grinned as the doorbell rang. She got the food and tipped the delivery boy and took Tucker downstairs.

"Danny not here yet, either?" Tucker said like 'what else is new'.

"Actually," Sam said gently, putting the food down and handing a pizza box to Tucker. "He's not coming at all."

"Ugh, he _cancelled_? That is _so _like him!"

"No, Tuck," Sam sat down. "I told him not to come."

"_What_?" he whined "But _whyyy_?" the horror dawned on him, "You're not going to make me watch chick flicks, are you?"

Sam punched Tucker on the shoulder and he whined, then she put her salad down and grabbed his wrist, "Come with me."

"Where are we going?"

"Upstairs."

"But the movies are playing down here!"

"You need to see my room."

"What? Sam, I know you're still hopelessly in love with Danny but taking it out on me won't..."

"NOT THAT!" Sam said with disgust, dragging him through the open door. "Look."

Tucker gaped at the hole in the wall. "Geez, I knew you could get mad sometimes, but this is..."

"Will you ever stop being ignorant?" Sam hissed. "Danny did this. Danny _Phantom_."

"Ohh..." Tucker said with realization at last. "But, your parents..."

"I know," Sam said, "But I didn't want to take the risk." She grabbed his wrist and they went back downstairs. "Besides, I need to talk to you. Alone."

"Okay, what do you need to talk about?" Tucker asked as they decendent the second flight of stairs, back into the basement.

"Danny," Sam said, setting Tucker in his chair. She snatched the pizza box as he reached for it and he whined again. "If I give this back, will you still pay attention?"

"What do you take me for?" he accused. She sighed and gave the food back. "Hey!" he whined, holding up a plain piece of pizza. "This slice doesn't have any meat on it!"

Sam snatched the pizza. Bread, tomato sauce, cheese... no meat, no face. As far as she was concerned, it was safe to eat. Tucker rolled his eyes and began eating while Sam sat down.

"Alright," she said. "We both know I like Danny."

"Love," Tucker corrected.

"I like him... a lot," Sam compromised. "Definately more than a friend."

"And you're never going to tell him. End of talk. Movie time!"

Sam snatched the controller from Tucker and beat him over the head with it. "BE SERIOUS!"

"I _was _serious! Geez, if you're gonna keep treating me like this I don't know if the free food and movies are gonna be worth it to hang out anymore!"

Sam almost gasped. "Is that the only reason you come here? For food and movies?"

"No!" Tucker covered. "You're my friend, Sam, geez! You know what I meant!"

"No, Tucker, I don't. Why don't you tell me?"

"Well, I consider you a friend but if you keep beating me up then you're not a very good friend at all and I won't stay around, even for the benefits that come with being your friend."

For once, Tucker was talking sensibly, and once again, Sam felt horrible.

"Look, Tuck..." she said slowly, "I'm... I'm s... _sorry_," she seemed to force the word out. "I'm just having a really bad day and I'm taking it out on you."

"Yeah, I know," Tucker said, "I should know by now how to behave around you and what to expect if I act up."

"I don't mean to be so controlling..." Sam seemed to be near tears. Tucker was confused.

"Sam, is there something you're not telling me? You seem more emotionaly than usual today... and I don't mean just angry, like, all over."

She glared, then sighed. "It's nothing you wanna hear about."

"Nothing I..." Tucker shuddered slightly, "Is it a female thing?" Sam nodded slowly. "Okay, then no more on that subject..." Tucker looked at his pizza, then swallowed a piece in nearly one bite to make sure he could still eat. The sight made Sam want to puke, but she didn't. When Tucker notified that he could still stomach his food, she sighed and began picking at her salad. This Time of Month thing was really taking a toll on her appetite - one second she'd be starving, and then the next she wouldn't want to eat at all. Okay, so maybe it was the quickening slip into depression, but she blamed it on the Time of Month while she could.

_"What good will it do me? I don't even wanna have kids."_

_"Well, sure, you say that now, but maybe when you get older..."_

_"What, Mother? When I get older, what?"_

What, indeed. Sam had told the truth. She never wanted to have kids.

Okay, so maybe she did, but she wouldn't, because she never wanted to get pregnant. The weight gain, the mood swings, the cravings... ugh. She'd heard of the weirdest pregnancy cravings, and while most of them didn't bother her, there was one she knew would - meat. She often wondered how vegetarians did it. Doesn't the growing baby _need_ meat? Yeah... nine months of lovely side effects just didn't seem worth it... and then the next eighteen years... right. She would gladly pass.

Besides... there was only one boy she would ever consider letting near her to even risk pregnancy, and that boy didn't acknowledge her as any more than a friend he didn't deserve.

"So are we going to talk about Danny or watch a movie?" Tucker asked.

"I..." Sam bit back. Why was this so hard? Why did she keep it inside? Why did she suffer? "I'm... I'm..."

"You're gonna tell him?" Tucker seemed more excited than he should. When Sam shook her head, however, he sunk back into his seat. "You're what?"

"I'm giving... up..." she sighed. There. She said it. _I'm never going to tell him anyway..._

"Sam!" Tucker whined, "You can't do that! Do you know how hard it is for me to watch you two? The way you look at him, the way you act when he's not looking... the way you two blush when you have a moment, the way you two always jump to say you're _not_ together... I watch it all and I don't say anything! I know I can get on your nerves but I think keeping that secret when I have to put up with you two all the time is a true sign of friendship."

"Oh don't go all preachy friendship king on me," Sam spat. "But listen to yourself. Everything, all the signs are there, and still I don't do anything, and I never will. I don't want to ruin what we have..."

"Oh, of course! Ruin all the awkward moments, that'd be a shame... and eliminating tension when in the presence of your peers! Who in their right mind would do that?"

Samantha didn't know what agitated her more - the fact that Tucker's tone was drenched in sarcasm, or the fact that it was all true and she needed to get over herself.

"Tucker, maybe this was a mistake..."

"What? Telling me? No, I talked you out of it, didn't I?"

"No... Maybe... I don't know!" Sam hugged her knees to her chest again. "I don't know..."

Tucker sighed, "Let's just watch a movie and take a cooling off period. I..." Sam shot him a glare at that P-word. Tucker looked aside but couldn't think of anything to say.


	3. Look This Way and Say You Like Me

**Broken Rules and Broken Hearts**

Chapter three: Look This Way and Say You Like Me

"What do you mean he's not there?" Danny asked.

"I'm sorry, he went to Samantha's house," Mrs. Foley replied over the phone. "He said he was meeting you there."

_"So should I tell Tuck movie night's cancelled?"_

_"No, I'll tell him. You get back home before your parents suspect anything."_

Way to exclude me, Sam. Unless...

"Mrs. Foley, has Tucker ever lied to you before?"

"Not about something like this. Should I call Samantha's house and see if he's there?"

"How about I call Sam's house and put you on three-way, so we can both find out what he's up to."

"If I may ask, are you mad at my son?"

"No, why?"

"Well, you're a good friend of Tucker's, and you're both teenagers. If he did lie to me about going to Samantha's, he could get in a lot of trouble."

"I know... but I'm willing to risk it to find out if Sam lied to me."

"Alright, I won't ask any more, it's not my business."

"Thank you Mrs. Foley. I'll be right back." Danny switched lines and called Sam's cell, then switched back. Sam looked at her cell. Danny. She glanced at Tucker who was unphased by the ringing. She turned her phone off and put it on the table.

"What's going on?" Mrs. Foley asked.

"She's not answering," Danny said with annoyance. "I'm gonna try the house phone."

_It's a good thing Tucker's mom is so patient,_ Danny thought as he switched lines, dialed, and switched back. This time Sam's father answered the phone. _Fuck,_ Danny thought, _I'm not supposed to be talking to Sam..._

"Hello, Manson residence, Mr. Manson speaking."

"Hello," Tucker's mom spoke first. "This is Mrs. Foley, I just called to ask if my son, Tucker, has shown up yet?"

"I believe he has, Mrs. Foley, would you like to speak to him?"

"Yes I would, if it's not a problem."

"Not at all," Mr. Manson covered the phone and called downstairs. "Samantha! Phone call for your friend!"

Sam rolled her eyes. "We're watching a movie!"

"It's his mother!"

"Ugh," she said to herself, then called, "Can't you bring down the cordless?"

"It's okay, Sam," Tucker said, getting up and heading upstairs. "Mum never calls, so just let me take it."

"Fine," Sam sat back in her chair. Tucker continued upstairs and took the phone from Mr. Manson.

"Mum?"

"Hey, baby, I just called to make sure you were there."

"Yeah, Mum, where else would I be?"

"Well, your friend Danny called for you..."

_Shit..._ Tucker thought, asking even though he knew, "What did he want...?"

"He just wanted to hang out. He apparently didn't know you three were supposed to meet at Samantha's house."

"Oh!" Tucker laughed nervously. "Silly Danny..."

Danny couldn't hold back anymore. "Sam told me she cancelled the plans for tonight!"

"DANNY? Mum, why didn't you tell me he was on three way?"

"Why did Sam lie to me?" Danny was noticably hurt. "What's going on, Tucker?"

"Yes... what's going on?" Mrs. Foley asked.

"Mum, it's not what you think!" Tucker said quickly, "Danny, Sam and I... we're not... she just... and the window..."

"The window?" Danny snapped. "Is that was this is about? It was a fu..." he remembered an adult was on the phone too, "...reaking accident!"

"Well she..." Tucker sighed, "Danny, she just wanted to talk, that's all..."

"About me."

"Well, yes, but..."

"Save it."

There was a click.

"Danny...?"

"He hung up," Mrs. Foley said. "I'm going to allow you to stay at Sam's for tonight, since you didn't lie about going there and it wouldn't be fair to punish you for something she did... You had no say in tricking him right?"

"Right," Tucker said smoothly, so she could tell he was being truthful. "I honestly thought he was gonna be here."

"Alright, well that's their problem now. Good luck with miss Manson."

"Thanks, Mum. G'night."

"Goodnight."

Tucker hung up the phone and went downstairs.

"What'd your mom want?" Sam asked.

"Just to make sure I got here safe," Tucker took his seat.

"You're lying," Sam said. "That phone conversation was way too long for it to have been just that."

Tucker tried to think up a lie, but Sam was giving him that piercing stare. "Okay, fine! Danny found out that you lied to him and now he's pissed."

"Well that solves my problem!" Sam said, sounding much happier than she should.

"Sam! You can't be serious!"

"Sure I am. If Danny and I aren't friends anymore, then I won't ever have to tell him I love him!"

She gasped and covered her mouth.

"HA! YOU SAID IT!" Tucker exclaimed.

"Well... so what if I did! It doesn't matter now."

Tucker sighed and sat down to watch the rest of the movie.

"How could she do that?" Danny paced around Jazz's room. He didn't like turning to his sister for advice, but if he went to his parents with friendship problems then he'd just hear the college stories with Vlad all over again, and he didn't need that right now. "No, why! Why would Sam lie to me like that? It would have been one thing if she just _told_ me that she wanted to hang out with Tucker alone... I'd still be mad but at least I would know what was going on... but no, she fucking lied to me!"

"Danny, calm down... Danny, SIT!" Jazz grabbed her little brother and sat him forcefully on her bed. He gave an aggrivated sigh and laid down.

"I thought she loved me..." Danny said. "I was sure of it. The way she looks at me, the way she acts when she thinks I'm not looking... the way we blush when we have a moment, the way we always jump to say we're _not_ together... and the way Tucker watches it all. He knows..."

"Just becuase she hid something from you..."

"_Lied_ to me, Jazz. Just say it. She fucking lied to me."

"Either way, it doesn't mean she doesn't care about you. Friends, and even lovers, lie to each other all the time... and sometimes it's to protect that person. What did you say he told you? She wanted to talk."

"About me."

"Did he say that?"

"He confirmed it."

"So she wanted to talk about you. Doesn't mean she's badmouthing you. Maybe she wanted to tell Tucker that she's finally going to crawl out of her shell and tell you how she feels. Maybe she just wanted to make sure it would be okay with him. Did you ever think of that?"

Danny glared at her. He hated when she made things all better. Okay, he loved it, but he hated feeling ignorant afterwards. "It would be hard on Tuck..." he said softly. Jazz smiled and laid on her side to face her baby brother.

"Don't feel bad. We're human. We act on impulse."

"But I'm half..."

"Ghost. I know. But ghosts feel human emotions too."

Danny thought about the ghosts and why they behaved the way they did. "Yeah..."

"So why don't you go over there? I'll cover for you if Mom and Dad come up."

"But she doesn't want me there..."

"Surprise her, Danny. Girls like that."

Danny shook his head. "Thanks, Jazz, but you've helped enough. I don't want to risk going there and finding out you could be wrong."

Jazz paled at the four words. Danny laughed softly and went back to his room.


	4. Its Yet Unseen Conclusion

**Broken Rules and Broken Hearts**

Chapter four: Its Yet-Unseen Conclusion is Still an Illusion

Sam awoke to the static of the movie. What had been left of her salad was now all over her and the chair, while Tucker seemed to be very comfortable using the stack of empty pizza boxes as a pillow.

"Need a hand?"

Sam jumped out of the chair, but Danny flew around fast and caught her.

"What are you doing here?" she exclaimed. "Are you trying to get killed?"

"Shh, your parents are still asleep," he laughed softly, putting her down. "Now, do you want my help, or not?"

"Tucker said you were mad at me..." she started picking up the salad while he turned the T.V. off.

"I was," he replied. "I talked to Jazz and she calmed me down."

"Remind me to thank her..." Sam said a little distantly.

"You sound unsure about that," Danny went to clean up what mess he could without waking Tucker up.

"Oh? I've just been thinking a lot lately..."

Danny glanced at her. "Where's your skirt?" having forgotten, Sam jumped and covered herself. Danny laughed, "No, I mean, you're wearing pants."

Sam felt foolish. "I... I'd rather not say..."

"Why not?" he asked, then remembered a conversation he'd overheard his mother and sister having a couple years ago. "Oh..."

"Yeah..." Sam threw the container away. "Which reminds me, I need to go to the bathroom."

"I'll stay here unless your parents come," Danny said. "Once we're alone, I need to talk to you."

"Alright," Sam said. "Where should I meet you if my parents do come down here and you have to escape?"

"Nasty Burger," he replied without hesitation. Tucker snapped awake at the words.

"Of course," Sam rolled her eyes and went upstairs.

"Danny?" Tucker blinked. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you and Sam," Danny smiled. "I figured you two should be done talking by now."

"But... last night..."

"I just felt left out. I talked to my sister and she made sense of the situation."

"What kind of sense?" Tucker made no effort to help Danny in picking up the fallen pizza boxes.

"You already know," Danny said. "In fact, you've known for a while if I'm not mistaken."

_Don't blow Sam's cover yet, Foley,_ Tucker told himself. "I have?"

"Of course. You've seen all the hints... we have too... we're just both too scared to do anything about it."

"Right... but now it's okay?" Tucker asked. "It's finally out?"

"Not yet," Danny said. "We need to talk to each other first... and I'd like to talk to you afterwards. Probably just going to say the same stuff she did, but I want us all to be on the same page."

"Right," Tucker nodded, thinking: _It's about time_.

"Samantha?" her mother called. "Are you awake yet?"

Danny went intangible. Tucker called, "She went to the little girl's room!"

"Okay," Mrs. Manson came down. "Aww, you cleaned up! Will you be going home now?"

"Actually, Mrs. Manson, Sam and I wanted to hang out today, too," Tucker said. Danny silently flew through the roof and then headed for the Nasty Burger.

"Well, not here, I hope," Mrs. Manson said. "It's much too nice a day to be in the house."

"So if I can get Sam to leave the house we can hang out?"

"Child!" she laughed. "You are the only thing other than school that can get her outside during the day."

"What about..." Tucker stopped. Didn't wanna get on bad terms with this parent.

"What about what?" she blinked.

"I was gonna say school," Tucker covered, "Then I realized you just said it."

"Oh, child," she turned and went back upstairs as Sam was coming back down.

"Danny leave?" she asked, looking around.

"I think so," Tucker said. "He went intangible first so he could still be hiding around here somewhere, but I think he would have pulled a prank on us by now if he was."

"Mm," Sam said in a confirming tone. "So let's go!"

"Right."

Tucker and Sam left and went to the Nasty Burger. When they got there, Danny was in the back fighting off a mediocre ghost. He captured it and turned around just in time to see them standing there with their arms crossed.

"Glad to see you didn't start without us," Sam said as Danny turned human and they went around to the front of the building.

"Why would I do that?" Danny asked.

"Eat breakfast this morning?" Tucker asked.

"No," Danny replied.

"There's your answer," Tucker grinned. Danny rolled his eyes. The three of them went inside, and Tucker offered to go order while Sam and Danny sat down. Same glared at him and Danny gave him a little half smirk. Tucker continued grinning and ran up to the counter. Sam sighed and took a seat at the nearest booth, and Danny sat on the opposite side of the table, facing her.

"Tucker sure can be a pain sometimes," Sam said so as to prevent any awkward silences.

"Yeah, but he means well," Danny smiled. While he was acting happy all day, he was dealing with a conflict inside. Since he'd voiced to his sister his suspicion of Sam's love for him the night before, he'd been thinking, and he realized, he really didn't love Sam. He liked her as a friend, and she could be cute, funny, and really nice to be around sometimes... but he didn't like her like that. He thought if he pretended to be all for it that his feelings would change, but in that moment as he smiled at her, seeing the look in her eyes as she sat there, it just settled. He liked her as a friend and that was it, nothing more. "Listen, Sam... I..."

"Sam do you want a..." Tucker trailed off. _Oops..._

"Diet Dr. Pepper, no ice," she replied with a sigh. He would always get her food order right because it was the only vegan thing on the menu... but once he got a regular soda instead of a diet soda and ended up wearing 90 percent of it.

"Right... bye!" Tucker took off back to the line. Sam rolled her eyes.

"You were saying?"

Danny bit his lip. What if she felt the same way and he was just going to make a fool of himself? No, no more stalling, no more what-ifs, no more doubts. This was going to get done, here and now. Maybe not right, but it was...

"Danny, hiii!"

Paulina was bubbly as ever... but, why was she talking to Danny?

"H...hi?" Danny blushed lightly.

"Oh you're just so CUTE!" Paulina pinched his cheeks and baby talked. Danny had half a nerve to take over her body and find out what kind of happy pills she'd been taking. Tucker came back with the drinks and placed them in front of his friends, looking very confused. Paulina looked at Sam and gasped dramatically. "Oh, I'm not interrupting anything, am I...?"

"No," Danny said, "Er, yes! I mean... I don't know!"

Paulina giggled. "Silly wittwe Danny..."

"Okay, spill it," Sam said, but before she could continue, Paulina smirked.

"Gladly," the cheerleader grinned, tipping Danny's soda over and spilling it into his lap. She then giggled and pranced off. Danny sighed, got up, and went to the bathroom. He went ghost, flew home, turned human, changed his pants, went ghost again, and flew back. By the time he got back, Tucker was just bringing over the last of their order and a new soda for Danny. Taking the signs to mean that he shouldn't bring it up yet, Danny 'forgot' what he was going to say by pushing it to the back of his mind.


	5. Like sunspots or raindrops

**Broken Rules and Broken Hearts**

The chapter four title was too long to fit in that little dropdown list thing that provides XD i find that amusing. in case you haven't noticed, every chapter title is a selected lyric from a song. In case you haven't noticed, this story involves quite a bit of OOCness, but what's a good fanfic if the characters act exactly as they should:-)

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**And I realized I've forgotten a disclaimer for each chapter too. Let me just say now, I do not own Danny Phantom! Please don't sue for a silly mistake** :-)

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Chapter five: Like sunspots or raindrops

Samantha Manson laid on her bed wearing an opque, black, knee-length nightie, and beneath it, although obscured by said nightie, a pair of tight black pants which she'd cut to be above-the-knee in length. As she stared up at her cieling, she thought:

_It often amazes me how such a minuscule thing, such as soda, can mean so much. Soda caused Tucker to walk over to us sooner than he'd planned, and just as Danny was about to say something that I feel would have fixed my problem once and for all. Soda gave Paulina the opening she needed to torment Danny, and the soda then gave him reason to leave and use up the only time he and I could have had alone together. Sure, we walked around for a bit after that and Tucker would conviniently part from us, but other things kept getting in the way. Sure, none of them had to do with soda, but that's not the point._

_A breeze? But my wall is fixed... thanks to my request that they not try to repair the window and just relay the brick._

"Hey Sugar Pie," she heard in a chilling, familiar voice. She looked around but the being she suspected was nowhere to be seen. The chill got closer, and the young Manson slipped under her comforter. The pale blue ghost faded into view directly above her. "How ya feelin'?"

Samantha glared. "What do you want?"

"Just to talk!" Ember waved her hands innocently. She lowered herself to the bed and laid on her side next to the gothic girl. Samantha didn't know what to do; Danny still had her thermos. She made note to take more next time she was at his house. Ember cooed, "Is Sammy sleepy?" she lifted her guitar. "Want me to play a lullaby?"

Just as Ember went to strum her guitar, Samantha growled, "Don't call me that."

"What, Sugar Pie?" Ember blinked.

"I meant _Sammy_," Samantha said, "But since you mentioned it, I don't like that either."

"How about Honey Bunch?" Ember asked eagarly, phasing through the covers.

"N...no!" Samantha felt herself blush. "Get out of my bed!"

"Baby, please," she moved closer, "I couldn't stand it."

"Couldn't stand what?" Samantha blinked, feeling awkwardly like she'd heard those words before.

"Seeing you with him, I knew my heartaches were old friends."

"Heartaches?" Samantha was annoyed. "Will you talk straight you crazy..."

Samantha's lips stopped moving as they were claimed by Ember's. The kiss was cold and send chills down Samantha's spine. Then she pulled away. "What are you..."

"Listen, Manson. He's never going to return your affection, so why don't you just give up?"

The sudden switch from talking in lyric to cold truth startled Samantha, but at the same time it was slightly relieving. Samantha watched as Ember removed her guitar and set it on the side of the bed.

"Are you afraid of being alone?" the ghost continued, moving closer to Samantha. "I'll stay by your side. Guys suck anyway."

"N..." Samantha began, but Ember claimed her soft, purple lips once more. The human teen shivered once more, but couldn't bring herself to push the ghost girl away... at least, not until she felt a cold hand trailing down her stomach and up her nightie. "Don't..."

"What's wrong?" Ember asked gently.

"Wrong time of month..." Samantha blushed as she heard her reason. It wasn't the one she'd meant to use. She'd meant to say... what? What had she meant to say? Ember grinned.

"My bad. Switch roles?"

Samantha took a moment to figure out what that meant, then blushed more. "NO!"

"Too soon?" Ember pouted. Samantha nodded. Ember sighed. "Oh well. That lullaby offer's still on the table..."

"I don't like lullabies," Samantha said, somehow being unable to resist the urge to cuddle to the ghost girl.

"Understandable," Ember smiled, finger-combing the girl's hair. "How do you usually get to sleep?"

"I just... lay there... and drift off..." Samantha said sleepily. Ember pressed a gloved hand to the back of Samantha's head.

"Then drift," she spoke softly into the gothic girl's ear, and almost as if she were spellbound, she did.

When Samantha awoke in the morning, she expected Ember to have left, but instead she was greeted by an unusually cheerful, "Morning, Sugar Pie!"

Samantha groaned and rolled over. "I thought I told you not to call me that..."

"Oops..." Ember flew around. "Uppy, babe."

"No uppy," Samantha was half asleep again.

"But we have to go meet the ghost boy and tell him the good news!"

"What news?" Samantha found this to be a losing battle.

"That we're together now!"

"We're what!" Samantha snapped up. Ember leaned forward and kissed her gently.

"Together," Ember said as she pulled away.

"Oh... right... but won't that make him mad at me again?"

"You're his best friend. He'll learn to love me just as much as you do."

"Love?" Samantha jumped. "Ember... this is so... sudden... I... I need time to think..."

"You take all the time you need, baby," Ember said, kissing her again. "I can wait."

"Ember..." Samantha began gently... then changed tones completely, "I gotta pee."

Ember laughed and moved out of Samantha's way as the latter girl jumped out of bed and ran to her personal bathroom. Ember sat on the bed and strummed her guitar a bit, humming new tunes to herself and seemingly trying to work Samantha's name into a song. When Samantha eventually returned, Ember smiled, "All better, babe?"

"Yeah," Samantha sat next to her alleged girlfriend. "What I mean to say was, what is your song about?"

"My song?" Ember blinked.

"Remember," Samantha said. "I've only ever heard the chorus."

"Wanna hear the whole thing?" Ember's eyes lit up.

"S...sure..." Samantha was a little startled by Ember's mood swings.

"Great, let's go outside," Ember turned to fly out.

"Umm, Ember?" Samantha presented herself as Ember turned back. The ghost girl tilted her head questioningly. Samantha actually laughed, "I'm still in my pajamas!"

"We can fix that," Ember said alluringly. Still laughing, Samanatha grabbed her clothes and returned to the bathroom. This time she only took a minute, came out, put her boots on, and took Ember's hand. The ghost made them both intangible and flew through the wall.

"Where are we going?" Samantha asked.

"To the nearest unoccupied studio," Ember said, flying straight there as if it were planned.

"I never knew this was a studio," Samantha said as Ember flew them inside, then went tangible and set their feet on the floor.

"That's because it wasn't," Ember said, hooking her guitar up to an amplifier. "Me and my band redid it last night."

"Why doesn't your band follow you around?" Samantha asks.

"They get annoying," Ember grinned. "Don't tell them I said that."

Samantha rolled her eyes. Ember strummed her guitar to test the volume of the speakers, and then her band appeared and started playing. The beginning of the song sounded like what Samantha had already heard, but then Ember went into singing:

"It was, it was September... wind blows, the dead leaves fall. To you, I did surrender... two weeks, you didn't call. Your life, goes on without me... my life, a losing game. But you should, you should not doubt me... you will remember my name."

As Ember went into the chorus, Samantha absorbed the words. It sounded like a song about a lost lover that she wasn't ready to let go of. The second verse went:

"Your heart, your heart abandoned... you're wrong, now bear the shame. Like bad dreams, in cold December... nothing but ashes remain."

As Ember repeated the chorus twice more, Samantha realized the true, dark beauty of the song. Ember had the punky look, but her music was just as fitting when heard in full. So is that why Ember was suddenly after Samantha? Because they'd both had their hearts crushed? But Ember never said her lover was a guy...

_"I'll stay by your side. Guys suck anyway."_

And Samantha never actually got Daniel's answer...

_"Listen, Sam... I..."_

Just when she thought life couldn't get any more confusing.

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yes, the majority of Ember's lines at this point are lyrics from songs by The Temptations. I was having trouble thinking of lines and I looked up their songs and they just seemed to fit in a twisted way.


	6. It's a Chance I've Gotta Take

**Broken Rules and Broken Hearts**

**I don't own Danny Phantom**

Chapter six - It's a Chance I've Gotta Take

"What do you think?" Ember asked, referring to her song. While the band disappeared, Samantha answered with the thoughts that had just been running through her head. Ember smiled. "You really think so?"

Samantha nodded, then asked something that had been on her mind, "How long have you liked me?"

"I took an interest in you the first time we me," Ember replied without hesitation. "You were cute adn somehow unaffected by my spell. After that, I made sure that I would meet you face to face, but getting trapped in the Ghost Zone and mixed up in evil plans kind of got in the way of that."

"And what if I don't want to be your girlfriend?" Samantha asked, but when Ember kissed her, the question became completely rhetorical.

"You wouldn't consider such a thing, would you, babe?"

"No... of course not."

Ember smiled. "Good." _Note to self: find way to make love spell last longer._

It being a new power, or as least a new way of transmission, Ember wasn't too worried. She would make Samantha fall in love with her for real. In due time.

Samantha's cell phone rang, and she answered it, "Hello?"

"Forget to check the caller ID?" Danny asked.

"Yeah. What's up?"

"Not much... just wanted to see what you were up to... and maybe arrange to see you again."

"Today?"

"Yeah... I'd like to be alone with you."

"Like... without Tucker? Or anyone?"

"Yeah... is that gonna be a problem?"

"N..." Sam looked at Ember. "I don't know, Danny. Something..."

"It's okay," Ember cut in softly. "I can stay invisible and sit nearby."

"Hold on," Samantha covered the speaker. "Are you sure you'll be okay with that?"

"Yeah," Ember grinned. "We can tell him when you're ready."

"You won't, like, attack him or anything?"

"Nah... I'd rather stay on your good side... no matter how cute I think your temper can be."

Sam tried to ignore the latter half of the comment. She uncovered the speaker and told Danny, "Okay."

"Okay?"

"Yeah... we can meet at the park."

"Sounds good... right now?"

"Right now?" Samantha echoed, more so looking to Ember for a reaction. When she got a nod of confirmation, she said, "Yeah."

"Parents right there?" Danny asked teasingly.

"Nearby," was all Samantha could say. "So... talk to you there."

"Right. Bye, Sam."

"Bye, Danny."

Samantha hung up, and Ember held out her hand. "Shall we?"

"But Danny..."

"Don't worry about him, babe," Ember smiled, taking Samantha's hand in her own and flying out of the building. They headed to the park at a decent speed, and the way she and Ember were holding each other now reminded Samantha of flying with Danny the first time they'd met Ember... right before they'd crashed into the oversized cut out of the undead pop star.

"There he is," Samantha pointed to someone under a tree. Ember flew down behind another tree and let Samantha go, then went invisible and followed her.

"Hey, Sam!" Danny said, then his ghost sense went off. "Oh, boy..."

"Wait," Sam put a hand on Danny's shoulder before he could go ghost. "I don't see anything, you're probably just cold."

"Sam, I know it's September, but I'm not cold."

"Do you see any ghosts?"

"No... but they could--"

"Just let it go... you said you wanted it to be just us, and it is."

Danny sighed. "Alright, Sam, but if we get attacked and something goes wrong, I'm holding you responsible."

"Okay," Sam said. Meanwhile, Ember had placed a small transmitter behind Samantha and then tried backing up a bit until her presence didn't affect Danny's ghost sense. The teens sat down against the tree. "So how are you today?"

"Pretty good, you?"

"Alright. Parents make any new inventions?"

"Yeah, and apparently Mom's been doing more of the work, because this one not only homed in on me, it began working right away." Danny shuddered.

"Well, what does it do?" Sam asked gently.

"It tears ghosts apart from the inside out."

"Woah! How did you get out of that one?"

"Well first it tried to force my transformation so it could get to my ghost half, so I resisted it and it was causing me severe pain so Mom turned it off and started to contemplate how weird it is that all their inventions target me. Jazz showed them a picture of Danny Phantom and said it's probably just confused because of all the similarities."

"That's a risky move."

"Well they don't know about halfas. Nobody does except me, you, Tucker, Jazz, and Vlad."

"And everyone in the Ghost Zone."

"I meant of people in the real world."

"Oh, okay. What about Danni?"

"Dan... oh yeah, my 'cousin'."

Sam smiled. "Maybe she's around somewhere."

"Hmm?"

"Maybe she's hiding. You know, being playful Danni. Maybe that's why your ghost sense went off."

"You think I can detect other halfas?"

"Has it ever gone off with Plasmius around?"

"Probably, I try not to think about him too much."

"Well if she's in ghost form then she's a ghost. She's probably spying on us."

Danny rolled his eyes. "Probably."

"At least we know we can trust her."

Danny sighed, then glanced at Sam. "If I may ask, hows the, um..."

"Room?"

"No."

"Parents?"

"No."

"...Oh!" Sam blushed. "It's... I'm fine. It's my third day so it should be over soon."

Ember couldn't help but grin at that.

"That's good. So it doesn't hurt...?"

Sam looked at Danny curiously. "Why are you asking me these things?"

"Awkward conversation worse than awkward silence?"

"Can be. There shouldn't be anysilence, though... we both have something we need to say."

"Yeah..." Danny took a deep breath, sighed, then said, "Look, Sam. I know we're great friends... and I know we've been through a lot... but I just... I can't..."

"It's okay, Danny, just say it..."

Danny closed his eyes tight. "I don't love you, Sam!"

Somewhere inside, Sam was hurt. But outside, Ember's spell was numbing the pain.

"That's okay, Danny," she forced the words. _I gave up on you._ The rest of the sentence wouldn't form. _I have a girlfriend._ That wouldn't go, either. _I don't love you, either._ That would be a lie. "I..."


End file.
